Crackdown in Egypt Fans U.S. Fears

By

Adam Entous

Updated July 29, 2013 7:16 a.m. ET

WASHINGTON—The Obama administration increasingly fears that Egypt's military, ignoring American appeals, is deepening a crackdown that could spark a sustained period of instability and lead members of the country's Muslim Brotherhood to take up arms.

In a series of private messages in recent days, Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel and other American officials warned Egyptian military leader Gen. Abdel Fattah Al Sisi that his clampdown on...